The digital age is breathing new life into ancient rock art around the globe, from Mexican caves to the Sahara Desert to the mountains and foothills of Western Canada. With the help of NASA-inspired software called DStretch, pictographs no longer visible to the naked eye are being revived, giving cultural archivists a fresh look into the past and a vital new preservation tool.
The software has allowed Parks Canada to uncover myriad hidden treasures at aboriginal pictograph sites in British Columbia and Alberta. Forgotten tales are resurfacing.
“It opens an entirely new chapter in rock art analysis and … rock art preservation,” said Parks Canada archeologist Brad Himour. “DStretch has the ability to bring back images and pictographs that we would have thought of as being lost up until just very recently.”
How the software was developed
Rock art had long fascinated Jon Harman. The American mathematician sought out pictographs on vacations, snapping pictures of stones and caves even when all that remained were indecipherable red blotches. Photo-editing programs improved the images, but not by much.
A friend pointed Mr. Harman to an image-enhancement technique known as decorrelation stretch. Developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it has been used to enhance photos of Mars. Perhaps the technique would work for faded pictographs, his friend suggested.
Mr. Harman took up the challenge and, with a few modifications, DStretch was created in late 2005. He provides the plug-in at no cost through his website. It’s designed to work with the ImageJ program, on PCs and Macs.
He estimates hundreds of professional and amateur archeologists have applied DStretch to digital photos of rock art, bringing the faintest of hues to life. The software has been used in Tassili n’Ajjer, a mountain range in the Sahara Desert of Algeria known for prehistoric pictographs. It has also been tested on paintings in the San Borjita cave of northern Mexico and more recently on aboriginal rock art sites in Western Canada.
“It’s our heritage. It’s the heritage of all of us,” Mr. Harman said. “These are beautiful works of art that need to be preserved.”
The Pictograph Project
Worried about the number of pictographs vanishing from the landscape in B.C. and Alberta, Parks Canada archeologists in the region were looking for ways to record and preserve the rock art and their stories.
They tried cross-polarization photography, but the process was dangerous because it required pictures to be taken in complete darkness, after midnight in remote regions, Mr. Himour said. For Parks Canada, DStretch was a game-changer.
Mr. Himour first used the software in the summer of 2010, applying it to photos taken at Sinclair Creek in British Columbia’s Kootenay National Park. Unlike the cross-polarization technique, pictures could be taken during the day. No special filter or flashes were required.
The parks archeologist knew the site contained five panels of pictographs, although only two are clearly visible today. In 1962, Parks Canada warden Kurt Seel sketched one of the now-faded pictographs in a notebook – the drawing included a line of elk and a human figure.
Through DStretch, these lost images reappeared. Mr. Himour was amazed.
“They showed up almost as clear as they had back in the [1960s],” he said. “Just striking. Absolutely striking.”
Since then, Parks Canada has taken about 2,500 photos at 30 rock art sites in Kootenay and Banff National Parks and in the foothills of Alberta as part of its Pictograph Project. The best images have been presented to native elders for interpretation. Stories of warriors and vision quests are emerging.
A digital window into the past
Harley Bastien often goes on hikes to look for pictographs. He is a member of Piikani First Nation in southern Alberta, and rock art offers a connection to his ancestors, showing him where they lived, fought and hunted for buffalo.
“For me, just to hear about them, it’s not enough. I want to go and stand at the site,” he said. “It’s basically a testament that we’re here, have always been here, and we’re still here.”
Piikani is one of the four native groups participating in the Parks Canada project. Others include Stoney Nakoda from Alberta and Kinbasket and Ktunaxa from B.C.
In parts of the United States, some aboriginals have opposed photographing rock art because they believe the images are sacred, Mr. Harman noted. In Canada, though, it appears the practice has been welcomed as a way to preserve a fading history for future generations. Mr. Himour expects DStretch will spread to other parts of the country.
Photos from the Pictograph Project will rest with both Parks Canada and the aboriginal groups. They’re working to determine how best to protect the rock art identified and share the images and stories uncovered. Recommendations are expected later this month.
Mr. Bastien and Xavier Eugene, a Kinbasket member, hope some of the images will be displayed publicly. Their ancestors’ rock art varied greatly. The Columbia Plateau natives of B.C. tended to paint images depicting vision quests and spiritual ceremonies, while the Piikani were a warrior society. Many of their pictographs include drawings of shield-bearing fighters.
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| Washout Creek along the shore of Kootenay Lake, B.C.: Multiple figures were painted at this site, often overlapping, indicating these pictographs were created over a long period of time – likely hundreds or even thousands of years. Drawings of a human figure with a drum and fir boughs suggest ceremonial activities took place here. Fir boughs were used in cleansing ceremonies of young females who had completed a vision quest. Vision quests marked the transition from childhood to adulthood for many Columbia Plateau groups. Also shown is a person hunting for sturgeon with a long spear, illustrating this was a good fishing spot. |
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| Sinclair Creek in Kootenay National Park, B.C.: The person on the left is dancing within a rayed arc, depicting a shamanistic activity. This was a common image among central Columbia Plateau aboriginal groups, but less so in eastern British Columbia, where this pictograph is located. The triangular-shaped figure on the right is of a different rock art tradition and may have been painted at a different time. In the figure’s hand is a circle or drum, indicating a ceremonial activity. |
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| Cochrane Ranche in Cochrane, Alta.: This is a classic shield-bearing warrior image that was common among Northern Plains aboriginal groups such as the Piikani. Several hundred shield-bearing warrior pictographs are found along the Alberta foothills, especially in the area of Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park. |
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| Armstrong Bay along the eastern shore of Columbia Lake, B.C.: A figure with two small horns is shown within a rayed arc. The “two-horned headdress” was a common Columbia Plateau decoration for a shaman, representing twin intellects, such as spiritual insight and wisdom in healing. |
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| Twin Bays along the eastern shore of Kootenay Lake, B.C.: Accessible only by water, this site contains exceptionally vibrant Columbia Plateau rock art. Several motifs are shown, including a rayed arc and water spirits, such as a frog, salamander and muskrat. Small mountain goats are also depicted, indicating this was an important hunting area. |
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| Okotoks, just south of Calgary: According to Piikani elders, this pictograph is believed to represent an important journey. The arrows on the right depict the direction of the journey – north. The human figures represent those who undertook the journey. The moons on the left indicate the length of time it took to complete the journey. There are 17 moons, meaning the journey took 17 months. |
Source: The Globe And Mail